Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Rejoice! It is Christmas!

Merry Christmas, everyone! A day late, but hey, it is still Christmas!
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The days leading to Christmas were so busy. Tons of last minute shoppings and bakings, in addition to the usual parties and events as well as church practices. Nonetheless, these are part of the fun of Christmas, my favourite time of the year...

So what did I bake for Christmas? Take a look below:
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Chocolate Banana Cake (based on wonderful recipe from SeaDragon with slight changes.)

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Vanilla Sugar Cookies (recipe taken from epicurous.com)

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More Chocolate Chip Cookies (recipe from Williams-Sonoma). Supposed to be crispy, but mine still turned out chewy (???).

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Mini Vanilla Butter Cupcakes for the children carollers!

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Triple Layered Chocolate Oreos Cake for brother's birthday. (truly yummilicious, thanks to Fatboy for recipe. I use my own recipe for chocolate sponge and chocolate ganache.) - (FAVOURITE RECIPE)

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Tiramisu (laddened with alcohol, the flavour gets better the longer it sits in the fridge (i.e., days not weeks or months, mind you). I had a slice 3 days after making it, and I couldn't stop at 1 slice. Recipe taken from Kitchen Capers - see sidebar for link). - (FAVOURITE RECIPE)


Once again, have yourself a blessed Christmas and a fantastic New Year!
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"Celebrate in the Wonders of His birth, Rejoice in the Beauty of Christmas!"

Sunday, December 17, 2006

Martha's Chewy Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Another recipe to try for the undisputed most popular cookie among the young ones in my family - the Chocolate Chip Cookie. I was taken by the rave review that I read here that I thought that I must simply try out this recipe, and so I did.

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Recipe from Martha Stewart. Click the link above if you want the recipe.

These cookies turned out chewy and soft with a slight crispy edge. Although the kids polished them off at no time, they commented the cookies were a little too soft. Almost cake like. Then again, my cookies were considered "underbake" according to the recipe. It is impossible to bake them for 18 minutes in my oven even at reduced temperature without burning them. I have learned this too many times.

Anyhow, soft or not, they are still pretty darn good. Well, anything that has chocolate in it has got to be good, right?

For another favourite chocolate chip cookie recipe of mine, click here.

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

MyCoffee Eats: Dinner @ Pacifica (MIGF)

Delayed posting on my dining experience at Pacifica, Mandarin Oriental during the recent Malaysia International Gourmet Festival.

This is my 3rd time consecutively that I had dined at Pacifica during the yearly Gourmet Festival. Each time brought about a different experience, all pleasurable nonetheless.
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My friends and I opted for the 3-course menu. In addition, we were given a glass of champagne and an additional chef’s special surprise.

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The obligatory bread basket. An entire small loaf of their “bread of the month” which was the Multigrain Raisin Bread, in addition to a selection of other variety of bread. The multigrain bread was really so good particularly if you eat it with the accompanying herb butter. Yum, yum, yum! We enjoyed it so much that we nearly polished off the entire loaf. Talking about being full even before the first course arrived. I was so impressed that I wanted to buy a loaf but changed my mind when I was told that small loaf costs RM25! As much as I enjoyed it, I really thought the price was ridiculously expensive!

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Amuse Bouche: Darn, I forgot what this was. But I remember liking it. Something “salmon” .

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For the appetizer, I chose Kumamoto Oyster Flight: Demi Sel Beurre Fondue, Verjus Jelly, Crisp Shallot Mignonette, Micro Herbs, Tartines Cauliflower Puree, Truffle Emulsion. (oh, baby!)
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while my friends picked the Warm Scallop Ceviche, Orange-Chili Marmalade and Carrot-Ginger Broth.

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Here comes the main - Lamb Tasting: Grilled Chop Cordon Bleu, Pencil Asparagus Poached Loin, Black Garbanzo Bean Puree, Harissa Sauce Shank Confit with Porcini Mushrooms. Not a lamb lover, I have to give my thumbs up for this main dish. I had it medium rare and it was wonderfully tender and bursting with flavour at every bite. Even my friend who usually abhors lamb, enjoyed her every bite.
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Although on the menu, there was no other main alternatives listed but when one of my friend who arrived late and who does not take lamb asked the waiter, she was told that there’s actually a non-lamb alternative. She was given an alternative main dish of cod, which she chose and loved. Unfortunately I could not remember other details such how it was done (e.g., pan-fried, grilled or baked) but I do remember taking a bite and liking it a lot. But then again, I have never not like a cod dish.

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This must be the chef’s special. Prelude to dessert although we mistook as THE dessert for the night. This dessert was clearly non-citrusy and for a while we were puzzled and thought that perhaps the dessert was replaced with another for that night. Nevertheless, we still savored every crispy and creamy bite to it.

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Feeling rather stuffed at this point, we were truly surprised when minutes later we were served with another dessert. Only then we remembered that there was a chef’s special for us in addition to the standard menu. So this was actually THE dessert from the menu - Citrus Curd Tart, Lemongrass Ice Milk and Sauce, Mango Salad. Luckily, it was neither too rich nor coyingly sweet, so although stuffed we still managed to make room for this dessert.

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Last but not least, more sweet endings - friandises. Various types of chocolate truffles and other goodies
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and a cup of good strong coffee.

Another year of waiting till next year’s Gourmet Festival.